Since his death 110 years ago in 1889, over £34,000 in interest has been allotted to the Cullimore Bequest, while the invested capital remains intact and the source of ongoing funding. Ledger records from 1891 to 1998 indicate that there have been approximately 22,500 tickets or vouchers distributed for either coal or other fuel, while boys of the parish derived benefit as apprentices to trades. Rita CurtisFamily Background Daniel Cullimore was born in Taghmon on March 20 1804. He was the son of Josiah Martin Cullimore (1757- 1815) and his wife, Elizabeth nee Stoneham (1768-1824). He was baptised on March 23 in the Catholic Church, Taghmon. His godparents were James Sinnott and Margaret Bolger.
The family's roots in the parish go back for centuries. In 1695 John Cullimore, Old Boley, married Elizabeth Davis of Mooretown, Co. Wexford, at Forest Meeting House. This Meeting House and burial ground were leased from Isaac Cullimore to Jacob Goff on June 17 1700 for 99 years. John and Elizabeth were great-great-grandparents of Daniel.
Daniel Cullimore emigrated at an early age and was fortunate to have had a long, varied and successful life. He was a student in London, a veterinary surgeon in the Bengal Army in India, a gentleman farmer and a barrister at law. He travelled widely and became a wealthy man.
Fortunately for Taghmon, he was also a philanthropist.
In 1600 London merchants got permission from Queen Elizabeth I to set up the East India Company . They were granted a charter to deal in spices. Trading stations were set up at Surat and Bombay on the west coast of India. Trade prospered and later stations were established at Madras and Calcutta on the east coast.
There were constant clashes at sea and on land between rival groups. In 1757 Robert Clive, better known as Clive of India, led the British to victory over the French at Plassey. The Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud- Daula was deposed and replaced. The rich province of Bengal came into British hands. A local army, not under the British War Office, with local soldiers/sepoys, was raised by the East India Company, to protect Bengal and enforce taxation under the Indian system. By 1765, the East India Company had become the outright ruler of the great province of Bengal and entered into diplomatic relations with some of the regional powers in India in the hope of avoiding war. The foundations of the British Empire had been laid down and its foundations stone, India, was very important to Britain.
There were constant mutinies, culminating in the Indian Mutiny, which broke out in 1857. The rebellion was fierce and bloody and lasted until 1859 when it was crushed. Afterwards it was felt that India could no longer be ruled by a private company. The Crown took over the running of the country and the East India Company came to an end.
Lewis describes the area: 'The principal seats are Castle Jane, and Hill Cottage of Rev. E. Graham. The land is rich meadow and pastureland, principally in large dairy farms, with only about one fourth of the land in the parish under tillage'. Daniel paid £7,000 for the Castle Jane Estate, borrowing £2,000 to do so. He had reverted to his roots and was now Daniel Cullimore, Esquire, a gentleman farmer in Ireland. He improved the house and farmed the land from 1852 - 1855. For most of his adult life he had enjoyed the camaraderie of his army friends and although he was busy he may have been lonely. At the same time he was pursuing a law career in London. He retired from the Honourable East India Company's service on September 9, 1854 having been admitted to the Inner Temple. In 1855 he sold Castle Jane for £11,000 and sold the stock by auction. He visited the Graham family in April and on November 7 Elizabeth Graham's husband, Robert Smith of Cottage Hill, Ballinderry, Co. Antrim and Fort William, Co. Cavan, died.
'According to the law lists for England and Wales, Mr. Cullimore's Law List entries extend from 1857 until 1889, but the absence of any chambers' address throughout suggests that he cannot have practised as a barrister in this country. Residential addresses were however given as follows: 14 St. James's Square, London (1858 to 1879 incl.), Ballyanne Park, New Ross, Ireland (1857 - 1871 incl.) and Monkstown, Ireland (1880 to 1889 incl.).'
The East Indian Club's London address was 14 St.
James's Square. It presumably provided rooms and other
club facilities for officials and employees of the East India
Company.
It must have been a happy day and a satisfactory event,
not only for Daniel, Eliza and their families, but also for
David Beatty.
The honeymoon was spent at Queen's Hotel, Crystal
Palace, Norwood and on the continent, after which the
couple returned to Ireland to live at Ballyanne.
Daniel was lucky to have left India when he did. He
escaped the dangers of the Indian mutiny and returned to a
tranquil life in his native country, no longer a lone bachelor.
The Cullimores remained in Ballyanne until 1863. They
farmed and improved the house and estate and made
frequent visits to the North of Ireland, London and the
continent. Daniel must have spent time visiting his
relatives in the Taghmon area and noted that many of its
inhabitants with large families were poor and
underprivileged which he remembered when drawing up
his will. Ireland had been through the Great Famine and in
1849 Taghmon was visited by a dreaded disease, cholera, that
claimed almost 300 of its residents, leaving the survivors
sad and dispirited .
On the first landing were four bedrooms, a water closet,
lavatory and bathroom with hot and cold water supply.
There was a linen closet on the upper lobby. The basement
was commodious and contained a large kitchen, a range
with two ovens and high-pressure boiler, two servants'
rooms, storerooms, a wine cellar, a scullery, two coal vaults
and a basement water closet. Gas and the Vartry Pipe
Water supply were laid on the premises. The garden,
tastefully planted with fruit trees and shrubs, extended to a
three-stall stable, coach house, a man's room and storage
loft upstairs. There was a compact walled in garden
opening on to the Monkstown Road. It must have been an
idyllic place for retirement and the ability to purchase and
run the property belied the adage that 'rolling stones gather
no moss'. Here Daniel and Eliza passed the final years of
their lives. They spent holidays in London and Paris. As
their health failed they went to Eliza's family at
Unicarville, Co. Down for a change.
In 1885, now aged 81, Daniel lost £3,000 by the failure of
the Queensland Pastoral Company which may have
prompted him to purchase Ballynacargy Estate for £1,450.
He may no longer have had trust in speculating or in banks.
As executor of Dr. Graham's will he had seen almost
everything lost by the failure of the Banks of Bengal and
Bombay. He must have worried about how he and Eliza
would cope if more financial misfortunes were to strike.
The estate was valued at £37,317 5s 2d . Probate was
carried out but extensive research has failed to unearth a
full copy of the will. It is not in the National Archives.
THE INTERIOR OF THIS CHURCH Daniel Cullimore had gone to his reward but for the
people of Taghmon the benefits of his commitment to his
native parish were just beginning. Had he been laid to rest
in the family enclosure in St. Munn's Cemetery those who
derived comfort from his generosity might occasionally
offer a prayer for the happy repose of his soul or leave a
flower on his grave in thanksgiving. His warm heart made
many a hearth a place of comfort over the past century.
May he rest in peace and may we remember him with
gratitude.
A special word of thanks to Andy and Jenny O'Brien, London for their
enthusiastic and thorough research in London sources.
The marriage record of Daniel Cullimore and Eliza Smith -
complete with Daniel Cullimore's signature.
Death of Dr. Graham and Married Life in Ireland
There was sadness the following year when Daniel's dear
friend, Dr. James Graham, was murdered during the mutiny
at Sealkote on July 91857. Daniel was one of the executors
of his will. The estate was worth about £50,000.
Dublin
In 1865 Ballyanne Estate was sold for £10,000 and the
stock, house and furniture disposed of at valuation. The
Cullimores went to live at a private hotel, Tudor Hall,
Monkstown, Co. Dublin where they stayed until 1871. In
1870 Daniel lost a considerable sum of money due to the
collapse of the Indian Banks. This misfortune may have
spurred him to invest his money again in real estate. In
1871 he purchased a fine property, 4 Longford Terrace ,
Monkstown, Co. Dublin. The house was beautifully
situated fronting the Bay of Dublin overlooking the
pleasure and tennis grounds, commanding unrivalled views
of coast scenery and Kingstown Harbour. It was close to
the Railway Station, sea and churches and a short walk
from the Club House and Mail Packet Pier at Kingstown.
Contained in three storeys over the basement, the house
included a front drawing room, a rear drawing room
opening from the front one looking onto a garden, a dining
room, a billiard room, a small study, a handsome well
lighted hall and staircase. There was a nicely fitted pantry
and a water closet off a rear hall.
4 Longford Terrace, Monkstown, Co. Dublin which Daniel Cullimore
purchased in 1871.
Death
Daniel and Eliza, married at 52 and 44 respectively, had
been blessed for 31 years, but dark clouds loomed on the
horizon. Daniel was diagnosed with cancer and died two
years later at his home on April 8 1889, aged 85 years .
He was laid to rest in Dean's Grange Cemetery. His death
was registered in the district of Kingstown No 1 Rathdown
in the County of Dublin on the 28 August by Bridget Bray,
present at death. By this time Eliza too was dead . After
Daniel's death she seems to have gone to Unicarville,
probably to the home of her sister Jane married to James
Allen, where she died on June 21, just 74 days after her
husband's demise. She was 77 years of age and had
suffered a stroke. Eliza was buried in the family grave at
Brumbo, Co. Down. Her death was registered by Martha
Warburton, present at death.
The Will - October 23 1888
The will (with one codicil) of Daniel Cullimore, late of 4
Longford, Terrace, Monkstown, Co. Dublin, who died
April 8 1889 at the same place, was proved at the Principal
Registry by James Graham of 16 Miles Road, Clifton,
Bristol, Colonel of Bengal Army and John Allen of
Unicarville, Comber, Co. Down Esquire, the Executors.
The house, 4 Longford Terrace, Monkstown was offered
for sale by auction at the premises on Saturday, October 12,
1889, at three o'clock afternoon, by order of the Executors.
The furniture and effects were sold on four consecutive
days from Tuesday October 15 to Friday October 18. The
wine list disposed of on the last day of the sale reads: 70
dozen of sherries, ports, clarets, marsala, amontillado,
champagne, Australian wines of selected vintages and some
brandy.
Memorial
Daniel was a very generous benefactor of the Church of
Ireland, Taghmon, during his life and a sum of £500 in
consols was left by him
to acquire a residence for the clergymen of the parish. He
is remembered by a fine plaque in the church, which reads
as follows:
WAS RENOVATED IN THE YEAR 1893
IN MEMORY OF
DANIEL CULLIMORE, BARRISTER AT LAW
BORN IN THIS PARISH ON THE 20TH OF MARCH 1804
WHO DIED AT MONKSTOWN, CO. DUBLIN
ON THE 9TH APRIL 1889.
AND OF HIS WIFE ELIZABETH, DAUGHTER OF
WILLIAM GRAHAM ESQ. OF LISBURN, CO.
ANTRIM,
WHO DIED AT UNICARVAL, CO. DOWN
ON THE 21ST JUNE OF THE SAME YEAR
THE ABOVE MENTIONED DANIEL CULLIMORE
WAS A GREAT BENEFACTOR TO
THIS CHURCH AND PARISH
Family Tree
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Some of the details of Daniel Cullimore's life are from Cullimore and Graham
family records, a copy of which was given to Hilary Murphy in the 1980s by a
family relative. The information it contained was invaluable for further
research.
Thanks also to:
John Bayley,
I.A. Baxter, British Library Office
Adrian Blunt, Inner Temple, London
Rev. J. Curtis
Linda Dolan, The Law Society, Blackhall Place, Dublin 7
Janet Edgell, Middle Temple, London
Guy Holburn, Lincoln's Inn Library, London
Ann Marie Lemass
Miranda Lewis, Rector's Personal Assistant, All Souls Church, London
Jean O'Hara, University Records, University of Dublin
Anne Marie Robinson, Society of King's Inns, Dublin
Eithne Scallan
Dr. A.R. Smith,
Dan Walsh, Millpark Road, Enniscorthy
Wexford Library Staff (Celestine Rafferty and Michael Dempsey)
REFERENCES AND NOTES